All is Not Lost
by Black Pirate
Summary: The Storm Hawk's leader has been captured! What do the Cyclonians want with him and how will the rest of the team save him? minor PA summery sucks, i know COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

HEY! First story, so reviews welcome. Lurving the Storm Hawks right now. Oh, there will be Pipper/Aerrow in the futer, but I'm not sure where. – bp (ps- I'm not exactly the best at spelling and grammer and such like so bear with me here!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Condor was being blasted back and forth by two Cyclonian crusers. Inside, Stork, the green Merb piolet, was struggling to controle the it, muttering how doomed they where. Piper was bending over maps and charts, desperatly trying to make a plan. As Piper looked out of the window, a skimmer raced by, another one just behind. Piper looked more closly and saw that the skimmer in front was her sky night and leader Aerrow, while the one chasing him was the Dark Ace, Master Cyclonis' champion. Piper smiled. Aerrow had this one, no problem.

Had she looked more closly, she would have discovered that Aerrow was in pretty bad shape. For one, Radarr, his co-piolet, along with his cockpit, was nowhere in sight. Aerrow himself was pretty worse for wear. He was missing one of his blades, and in the places where some of his armor was, there where blast marks. There was also a trickle of blood running down the side of his face, and to make matters worse, his skimmer was losing power. Aerrow grimmiced. The side of his head was throbing, and the blood, his blood, was getting into his eyes. The skimmer's power was completely gone now. It was all Aerrow could do to keep it from doing a nose dive into the wastlands.

The Dark Ace and his skimmer, meanwhile, were in top condition, besides a dark bruse over one eye. The sky night would pay for that eventualy, but for right now, the Dark Ace could practicly tast the desperation coming from Aerrow as his skimmerstarted to fall even faster. Aerrow could have activated his glider, but he wasn't wearing it. The Cyclonian's attack had been an ambush. Aerrow scaned the arrea for any signs of Junko or Finn, but they where nowhere in sight.

By now, the skimmer was free falling, with Aerrow inside it. He knew that his only chance, which was a slim one, was to jump and to hope that there where low flying skimmers aroun, so Aerrow jumped. Just as he did, an arrow hit the power cell, and his skimmer exploded. Aerrow grabed onto the wing of a passing skimmer and pulled himself on. He heard a cold laugh and looked up. He had pulled himself onto the Dark Ace's skimmer. Aerrow lept to his feet, but the sudden action caused his head to spin painfuly and his eyes to swim in and out of focus. The Dark Ace sensed this moment of weakness and nocked the young teen senseless with his fist. He dragged Aerrow behind him and signaled the squadren to pull back to the crusers.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TADA! a bit short i know, but it's late. Reviews welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next installment! I don't own Storm Hawks :'(

Junko and Finn were happy. They had won. Although, they themselves were only hanging on by threads, Aerrow must have defeated the Dark Ace, again. They cruised into the landing bay and found Piper waiting for them.

"Great job guys!" she said

"Where's Stork?" Junko asked

"Assessing the damage of the Condor." Piper replied. "If those cursers hadn't pulled back…" She trailed off. It was pretty obvious to everyone what would have happened. "Anyway," she continued "where's our fearless leader?"

"Dunno." Finn said, shrugging his shoulders. "Must have been on the other side of the Condor." But after fifteen minutes of waiting, all three of them where very worried. It was agreed that Piper and Finn would look for him, while Junko stayed behind to fill in Stork, and help him with any repairs. So Finn and Piper took off and started scanning the skies, but after half an hour of searching, it started to rain, and there was still no sign of Aerrow.

"Maybe," Finn said, trying to be helpful, "he crashed on the terra."

"What terra?" snapped Piper "There isn't anything out here for miles! It's just wastelands!"

"Then maybe he crashed in the wastelands!" Finn said exasperated. "Come on Piper, you know that the only thing to keep Aerrow from coming back is that his skimmer isn't working right." Both knew that a faulty skimmer was not the only thing but neither of them wanted to admit that. Piper sighed and flew her heli-scooter below the cloud line. If there was anything alive in the wastelands, it would be pretty easy to spot.

Finn kept his eyes on the surface. Even though he bragged so much about it, he really did have great eye sight, which was why he was 'the best sharp shooter around', or so he said. Suddenly, movement caught his eye, and he dove towards it. As he got closer, he could hear loud screeching that **did not** sound happy **at all**. By now, the shape was more defined through the rain. It was small, wet, and on the top of a rock shelf, jumping up and down, and waving it's arms to flag him down. It was Radarr. Next to him was the smoldering heap of the remains of his cockpit, and an activated parachute. Finn flew by him, and, as he did, caught the little blue creature up in his arms and placed him in his skimmer behind him.

"Radarr, where's Aerrow?" he asked. Radarr looked at him puzzled, and then pointed upwards questioningly. "No, he's not up there." Finn said. "Did you crash before the fight was over?" Radarr nodded, still looking puzzled. "He's missing." Finn sighed in frustration and flew off towards Piper. Once he got even with her, he relayed his news. "I found Radarr, but when he crashed, Aerrow was still fighting the Dark Ace, am I right?" Radarr nodded.

Piper held up something metal. She didn't speak, just tossed it to Finn. It was one of Aerrow's blades. Finn sighed and passed it to Radarr. Radarr took it and stared at it mournfully, shivering with cold in the now heavy rain.

"Piper! Finn!" They both looked up. Junko was soaring towards them. "Stork said he knows how to find out what happened to Aerrow! Come on!" and the wallop flew back to the Condor. Finn and Piper exchanged glances, than followed. Once in the hanger bay, they met Stork.

Piper approached him. "Junko said you have a way to find Aerrow."

The green merb nodded and walked off to the bridge, waving his hand at the others to follow him. They did and found themselves at the security screens.

"I designed the cameras to detect anyone who wears the sign of the Storm Hawks, or the Talons. That way, when one or the other is detected, the cameras will stay on them as long as possible, until they pass into the sight of the next camera, and so on and so forth."

Piper gave him a huge hug saying "Stork, that's brilliant!" Stork just shrugged and started twizzling some knobs and pushing buttons. A picture sprang on to the main screen. It was of Aerrow, his skimmer without power and falling fast. Aerrow then jumped off just as it exploded. Piper gasped.

"Don't worry." Stork reassured her. "It'll most likely get worse." Aerrow had just landed on the Dark Ace's skimmer. He leapt up, then suddenly became unsteady. The Dark Ace swung at him with his fist, and Aerrow collapsed. The Dark Ace pulled the unconscious Aerrow behind him and made for the hanger bay of the nearest cruiser, signaling the other Talons to do the same…….

Stork stopped the recording. Radarr made the tiniest moan, and then was silent. Piper had her hands over her mouth, staring at the blank screen. Finn was staring into space, talking more to himself than anyone else. "Oh man……. I thought we had won man. Really, I thought……" he trailed off and looked at Junko. He looked more miserable then the day Finn had accidently dropped his prized knuckle busters over the side of the Condor.

Stork sighed. "He'll probably be in Cyclonia by now."

Piper snapped out of her trance and glared at Stork. "Then we're going to Cyclonia to get him back!" Finn, Junko and Radarr exchanged glances. Piper had a plan.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry it took so long to post. I was working at my mother's school for a week. Had no time! Anyhoo, don't own Storm Hawks, just my ideas, duh. Anyhoo, ON WITH THE STORY!

The first thing Aerrow noticed when he came to was the fact that his jaw really hurt. The second thing was that it was very cold. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked around. He was on a small terra with nothing on it save one small, lone hill. On that hill was a white flag with a symbol Aerrow knew all too well. A blue eagle in the midst of flight. The symbol of the Storm Hawks. Aerrow knew why the flag was there. It was tradition that whenever a squadron was lost in battle, they would be buried on a lone terra, with a single flag to mark their resting place. Aerrow got up, ignoring his slight headache, and approached the hill, thinking. He defiantly remembered falling onto the Dark Ace's skimmer, but after that, it was all pretty much a blur. Although, judging the pain in his jaw, Aerrow figured that the Dark Ace must have hit him, hard.

He had reached the top of the hill by now, and was beside the flag. He noticed something that was resting against the pole. A single white flower was placed there. Aerrow looked at the flag, with the white flower at its base. There was a sadness about this place that seemed to sink into the very bones. Aerrow shivered and went back down the hill. He had no idea why the Dark Ace would bring him here, instead of Cyconia. He started walking around the terra, stretching out his legs and arms. It was surprising how stiff one could get while unconscious.

The sound of a skimmer changing from wings to wheels brought him out of his thoughts. He turned, and came face to face with the Dark Ace. Aerrow took a step back, feeling very uneasy about facing the Dark Ace without his blades, yet the Dark Ace didn't do anything. He just stared past Aerrow. Aerrow turned slightly to see what he was looking at. It was the flag. He turned back to the Dark Ace.

"Remembering when you killed them Dark Ace" Aerrow felt that his only defense at the moment was words. The Dark Ace's eyes snapped to Aerrow. They were filled with rage, and something Aerrow had never seen before. Was it …..sadness?

The Dark Ace suddenly drew his blade and pointed at Aerrow's chest.

"You will never understand what really happened that day." The Dark Ace snarled.

"I know well enough." Shot back Aerrow "You killed every single Storm Hawk the day the old Master Cyclonis was defeated." The Dark Ace gave him a look of pure hate. "Why am I here anyway?" Aerrow continued. "Why didn't you take me to Cyclonia?"

The Dark Ace held his blade at Aerrow's throat. "You are in no position to ask questions." He said. "But I'll answer you anyway. You are here because you friends will most surely think your being held in Cyclonia. They will go and try to rescue you, but by the time they relies that you aren't there, they will have been taken, and, since Master Cyclonis doesn't really need them, they will be destroyed" he smiled as Aerrow visibly stiffened. "Of course, you will be the one to kill them."

"Never!" Aerrow spat "I'd kill myself before I'd kill one of my friends."

The Dark Ace smiled "That's exactly what I said, and look what happened to me." Aerrow looked at him, confused. The Dark Ace then kicked him in the chest, whirled his blade around and sliced Aerrow's shoulder. Aerrow stifled a cry of pain as he stumbled back, clutching his wounded shoulder. The Dark Ace smiled again "You will never forget this day now." He then got onto his skimmer and flew off.

Aerrow watched him leave. Only he was out of sight and Aerrow as sure that he wouldn't come back, did he examine his shoulder. It was deep, long, yet clean. He tore off the sleeve of his good arm and raped it around the wound. It wasn't much, but it would stop the bleeding. Aerrow sighed. Despite everything the Dark Ace had said to him, two things couldn't leave his head.

"_You will never understand what really happened that day_."

"_That's exactly what I said, and look what happened to me_."

Not the best chapter in the world, I know. I got the flag idea from 'Absolut Power' when Starling visits the flag. And lastly, the blue button is lonely. If you click it, it will feel better! -bp


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, here's the next chapter! Huzzah! ****I have something to tell everyone, but I'll wait until the end. Onward!**

Piper bowed her head in frustration. How? How could this have happened? She was acting team leader. She should have seen that it was all a trap, but she didn't. Her anxiety for Aerrow blinded her to the obvious. As soon as they had entered Cyclonia, Talons had attacked them from all sides, and the Storm Hawks were no match for them. They were taken almost at once. It was, as Finn pointed out, embarrassing how they lost so quickly. They were then hauled off to the Cyclonian dungeons, where they were each thrown into a separate cell. Communication was impossible, since there were no windows and the doors were an extremely thick kind of mettle. There was no way for Piper to tell where Aerrow, or any of the others, where. The sound of her door opening made her look up. In walked the hated figure of Master Cyclonis.

Master Cyclonis smiled at her. "So nice to you again _girlfriend_."

"So you admit we were friends?" Piper said, smiling.

Master Cyclonis' smile turned into a snarl. "Don't push me Piper. I'm here to offer you one last chance to live. Join me, and your life will be spared."

Piper laughed. "So kill me then. I'll never join you."

Master Cyclonis smiled cruelly. "Very well." And with that she gestured to the door. In walked the Dark Ace, and with him, an unconscious Aerrow. Piper couldn't help but gasped. She had never seen Aerrow like this. He was cut and bruised in several places, along with a gash above his right eye, and there was a blood stained bandage wrapped around his left shoulder. There was also a heavy bruise on his jaw. Master Cyclonis' smile grew, if possible, even crueler. "Wake him, Dark Ace, and tell him that it's time to kill one of his friends."

* * *

**Yeah this isn't the greatest chapter in the world, and it's short, but I needed to do this to get to some other things I am planning. Anyhoo, school starts on Tuesday, and my school does this outdoor experience thing the first week of school, so I might get chapter 5 in before I leave, but if I don't, then ****don't expect another for about a week. Don't forget to review!-****bp**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am soooooooooooooooooooooo sorry! First I was away on a camping trip with school, like I sa****id, and then this past week was the first week of classes….. sigh ****Anyhoo****, sorry again for not updating. I promise it won't happen again!-bp**

Aerrow awoke to a sudden pain to his stomach. He groaned and opened his eyes. It was so bright. He barely recognized the Dark Ace standing over him. He didn't have time to react as the Dark Ace hit him again, this time in the chest. The light was receding as the pain brought him back to earth. He was in some kind of room, not the lonely terra. The Dark Ace was saying something, something about killing and….. Piper? Aerrow's mind suddenly put the two together and leaped up to his feet.

He was in a small cell, which consisted of four blank walls, one small window, and four people. The Dark Ace, Master Cyclonis, himself, and Piper. She was looking at him with worry shining out of her golden eyes. Aerrow smiled at her reassuringly, until and energy blade was thrust into his hands by the Dark Ace.

"Fitting isn't it," he said "that the new Storm Hawks are destroyed with the same blade that killed the old Storm Hawks." Aerrow dropped the blade as if it were white hot.

"I'm not doing it." He said, looking from the Dark Ace to Master Cyclonis. "You can't make me."

Master Cyclonis smiled cruelly. "Oh yes I can." She said, and the blade jumped back into Aerrow's hand. Master Cyclonis then took out her crystal staff and pointed it at Piper. "Either you do it, or I will." Her smile widened as Aerrow recoiled slightly, his eyes filled with confusion on what he should do, and hatred towards her, and she loved every bit of it. Watching Aerrow suffer after all he had done to foil her plans was a welcome treat.

Aerrow looked at Piper, then at Master Cyclonis, then at the blade in his hands. There was no way that he would kill Piper, but he couldn't see her _be _killed either. Master Cyclonis had truly got them this time. Aerrow glanced at Piper again and saw the window behind her. He then glanced at the blade which he activated. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Piper's eyes go wide. He winked at her, then sighed in defeat. He then pointed the blade at Piper. The world was still, then, Aerrow fired.

**I really feel evil today. I'll update soon, when I'm not sure. But I will! You shant be waiting two weeks like last time!-bp**


	6. Chapter 6

**Don't own Storm Hawks, blah, blah, blah. Wish I did, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. Read on!**

Piper didn't know what to think when Aerrow activated the Dark Ace's blade. Was he really going to kill her? She looked at him, and he winked. She looked at the blade. It wasn't pointed at her. It was pointed ever so slightly past her, at the window. So slightly, Piper was sure both Master Cyclonis and the Dark Ace didn't notice. Piper moved her eyes back to Aerrow. He sighed in defeat, which Piper knew was an act, and fired. Piper felt the blast rush past her, and hit the window behind her. The room was full of dust. Piper couldn't see. She felt a hand close around hers and pull her in the direction of the large blast in the wall. She didn't struggle or resist. She could recognize Aerrow's hand anywhere. They burst through the cloud of dust into nothingness. Piper realized that they had jumped, and were falling fast. She looked over at Aerrow who smiled at her.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" she yelled over the rushing wind.

"Not a clue!" Aerrow shouted back, smiling wider still. Piper looked down. The Wastelands were getting closer and closer by the second. The rocky cliffs were all around them. Piper closed her eyes, waiting for the impact that would certainly kill her, but it never came. Aerrow's hand around her wrist, and a sharp jolt, stopped her fall. She looked up. Aerrow had hold of a tree sticking out of the rocky cliff. He looked down at her and smiled again, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Upon looking closer she realized that they were full of pain. She then felt something warm running down her hand that was holding on to Aerrow's. She looked and gave a start when she saw that it was blood. But she didn't feel any pain, so where could the blood be coming from? The answer came to her, when she saw that the trail continued up Aerrow's arm to his shoulder, where it disappeared under the blood soaked bandage.

"Aerrow!" Piper cried.

"It's nothing." Aerrow replied through clenched teeth. It obviously wasn't. Piper looked down, a few feet below her was a rock shelf that could easily hold both of them.

"Let go of me Aerrow!" she said. When Aerrow looked at her like she was crazy, she said. "There's a shelf a few feet under me. It will hold both of us."

"Alright." He said, and let go. She dropped, and landed on the shelf. A few seconds later, Aerrow landed besides her. Piper turned her back to him and looked out over the Wastelands.

"Well," she said, sighing "now what?" When Aerrow didn't respond, she turned to look at him. He was leaning against the cliff, and holding his wounded shoulder. He was very white and breathing hard. "Aerrow?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm alright." He said, before slumping down into a sitting position, still leaning against the cliff. "I'm just a bit tired…" And with that he closed his eyes in a faint.

**Alright! I finished this chapter! Huzzah! Now I gotta do homework….humph. Oh well. Reviews welcome. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok. Here's the drill. My baseball team is in the playoffs, so for the next month I shall (hopefully) be spending most of my energy cheering them to the World Series, and also, the play I'm in goes up in about a month, so, if you think I'm taking ****a while to update, those are the ****reasons why, oh and school. Completely forgot about sc****hool. sigh I wish school would**** go away and all I'd have to do in my life was write forever and ever and ever and ever and why do you care? You probably want to read the next installment! Don't let my randomness get in the way! Read on!-bp**

Piper eased Aerrow to a lying down position. As gently as she did so, he still winced slightly in his sleep. This was the first time she had a really good look at him after his capture. He really was in bad shape. She glanced at the blood soaked bandage wrapped around his shoulder, and started to remove it carefully. Once she had uncovered the wound, she gasped. No wonder Aerrow fainted from it. Piper removed one of her long-sleeved gloves from her arm and replaced Aerrow's make shift bandage with her own. She then settled down beside him to wait for him to wake up. It occurred to her that Aerrow never once had complained about his injuries. He and the Dark Ace exchanged blows all the time, yet Aerrow made it look like he didn't get a scratch.

The sound of skimmer engines in flight brought Piper out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw a squadron of Talons flying right over them, and they were in plain view. Piper looked around desperately for someplace to hide and saw a crevice just wide enough for them to squeeze through. As soon as they passed through, Piper noticed almost at once that it was cavernous, with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere. The second thing Piper noticed was the fact that she could _see_ the stalactites and stalagmites and that the whole cavern was alight with a faint, pinkish glow. Piper looked up to find the source and saw it. Veins of raw, un-mined crystals cris-crossing all over the ceiling. Piper couldn't identify what kind of crystal it was, it was too far away, but it provided light, and that was good enough for her. Half carrying, half dragging Aerrow, she moved away from the entrance way and behind one of the large stalagmites, or stalactites, or whichever one that was on the ground, Piper didn't know, and currently, she didn't care.

She was laying Aerrow down, when her exposed arm brushed the side of his face. Piper gave a start. She felt his forehead with her un-gloved hand. He was cold, clammy, and was shivering slightly.

"Don't you dare Aerrow." She said quietly "Don't you dare do this to me!" The only reply she got was Aerrow inhaling a shaky breath of air, along with a slight wince of pain as he strained his bruised ribs. Piper suddenly felt extremely tired from the day's events, so she leant against the stalactite, or stalagmite, and drifted into a light doze.

When she awoke, Piper immediately knew something was wrong, but had no idea where she was. Then her gaze fell on Aerrow, and it all came back to her, along with the reason why she felt so worried. Aerrow's condition had worsened. He was shivering hard now, and a cold sweat was forming on his brow. The only thing Piper could do was to get closer to the young sky night to try and keep him warm. She had never felt more helpless in her life. Suddenly, a low, cold laugh filled the room.

"Well, well, well…" a voice said slowly. It was a voice that Piper loathed to hear. "What have we here?" Piper slowly looked up, and met the two hard, red eyes of the Dark Ace.

**I think I'm gonna leave you there tonight. I might update again this weekend if you're lucky, and if I feel motivated enough. Hint: reviews motivate me! ;)-bp **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the motivation everybody! I totally slipped up in not saying thank you to Jazzy Pony for helping get out of my writers block by giving me the ideas for last chapter and this chapter. She's an awesome writer. You all should read her story **_**Love Conquers **__**All**_**. I don't own Storm Hawks which makes me very sad inside. Oh, thank you to jen for telling me the difference between stalactites and stalagmites! Read away!-bp**

Piper leapt to her feet. The Dark Ace laughed again.

"Please, don't mind me." He said "You looked so cozy lying there." Piper felt her face turn red. The Dark Ace glanced at Aerrow, who was very pale. "He's going to die if you don't help him soon you know." He said matter-of-factly. The Dark Ace enjoyed watching Piper go from bright red to sheet white in a matter of milliseconds. He enjoyed it so much, he felt like he had to continue. "In fact, I would only give him a couple more days." Piper looked at him, her eyes wide.

"How do you know?" she asked quietly. The Dark Ace laughed, and drew his blade.

"That's what happens when a firebolt crystal cuts into the skin. I'm sure you've noticed his shoulder there." He pointed at Aerrow's shoulder with his blade and activated it. "I'm sure that is very painful for him. Why don't I just put him out of his misery here and now?" He raised his blade over Aerrow.

"No!" Piper screamed, and kicked out at the Dark Ace. He had been expecting it, and neatly side stepped out of the way. But Piper was determined and kept on attacking, driving him away from Aerrow. She attacked with such ferocity; the Dark Ace could only defend himself, not attack back. Piper actually was gaining the upper hand, until she stepped on a loose rock, slipped, and fell. The Dark Ace saw his opportunity and lunged forward, blade aimed directly for Piper's heart.

"This ends now!" he snarled. He was about to strike, when a rock hit his blade and sent him spinning of course. Piper looked to see who her savior was and saw Aerrow, standing up, and looking more determined than ever. Piper ran over to him.

"I was aiming for his head." Aerrow said with a smile. Piper laughed, partly with humor, but mostly with relief that Aerrow was awake. Then she saw that he was still deathly pale, and his balance unsteady. Yet he had a genuine smile on his face. Suddenly, the Dark Ace came out of nowhere. Aerrow pushed Piper out of the way and just managed to roll out of the way himself. He stood, slightly dizzy from the many turns, and felt Pipers hand grab his. She pulled him toward one of the many tunnels leading off from the cavern. They entered and followed the pinkish veins of un-mined crystals, the Dark Ace hot on their heels. They rounded a corner and saw, exactly what they needed. A fork in the passage. They chose the darker path, which only had one small vein of crystals running through it. They ran for what seemed like forever, until they felt their lungs would burst. Finally they came to a stop when they were sure that the Dark Ace wasn't behind them. The light was still dim, yet they could still see each other's expressions, which they were sure mirrored. Scared, exhausted, and, in Aerrow's case, pained. As soon as they had stopped, Aerrow had sat down. At the moment, he didn't care about being strong, he just needed to sit down and rest. Piper looked down at him. He was still pale, and had started shivering again. Aerrow looked back at her. He half smiled.

"Well, now what?"

**Tada! Hope you enjoyed the next installment. I liked all the reviews that people gave me. It made me feel loved! 3 So yeah, I'm going to bed now 'cause it's like, 12:15 in the morning and I gotta get up early tomorrow, so I'm in trouble! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!-bp ** __


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the lax in updating. I've been very busy of late cough schoolcough cough. Anyhoo, thanks for being so patient with me, and read away!-bp**

Piper and Aerrow continued to walk down the passage way, with no clear idea where they were going. They had been wondering the maze of crystal lit passages for hours, trying to find a way to the surface. They had to stop often for Aerrow to rest. They both knew he was in bad shape, yet neither of them wanted to admit it. They're only comfort was the thought that the Dark Ace was as hopelessly lost as they were. They walked on and on, having no idea what time it was, or, which worried them the most, where Finn, Junko, Stork, or Radarr where. They had paused to rest again. Aerrow sat down as soon as they had stopped and had lent against the wall, his eyes closed with fatigue. Piper had remained standing. She wasn't tired. The last time they had stopped was about ten minutes ago. She cast a worried glace in Aerrow's direction, which went unnoticed, because his eyes were closed. Was it true, what the Dark Ace said? Was Aerrow really going to die? He was certainly losing strength, but Piper couldn't imagine someone as strong as Aerrow _dying_. Aerrow's eyes opening suddenly brought Piper out of her thoughts. He looked confused, yet concerned.

"What is it Aerrow?" Piper asked, knowing full well what that look meant. Something was wrong.

"The ground's shaking…" was the only thing Aerrow managed to get out before the tunnel started collapsing. Piper dove out of the way. She didn't know how, but she somehow made out of the collapse without injury. Piper turned. Aerrow wasn't behind her. He wasn't in front of her. He wasn't beyond the collapse. She glanced at the mound of rocks. It took a few moments for her mind to register…

"AERROW!" she leapt toward the rubble and started digging feverishly. The sharp rocks and un-mined crystal cut into her hands, but she didn't stop. There was no pause in her digging until her hands felt something other than rocks or crystal. It was cold, smooth and metallic. A piece of Aerrow's armor! She dug faster, around that spot, until she cleared enough of the rubble away to drag him out. Once they were clear of the rubble, Piper set Aerrow down gently. He was awake, yet seemed to be stunned.

Piper's first concern was Aerrow's shoulder. After she checked to see if it had sustained any more damage, which it seemed like it hadn't, she moved on to the rest of him. It was only then that she noticed the dark stain soaking his front and the shard of crystal sticking out of his chest.

"No…" Piper breathed. Aerrow seemed to have heard her, and his eyes focused on hers. A small trail of blood was trickling out of the corner of his mouth. He slowly lifted his hand and touched her face, wiping away the tears that had started to fall unnoticed. Piper reached up and held his hand there, too shocked to say anything. Aerrow smiled, his eyes full of comfort, until they closed, never again to open.

"AERROW, NO!" Piper's scream of despair echoed in the passages of her nightmare and reality. Piper woke in a cold sweat. She was in the same place that they had stopped to rest after they had outrun the Dark Ace. In a sudden panic she glanced over to where Aerrow should have been. He was still there, yet deathly white, with breaths coming in short gasps. It seemed that he was unconscious, for anyone in a normal state of sleep would have been awoken by Piper's cry. Either that or he was too tired to respond.

The sound of footsteps brought Piper back to reality. It seemed that her cry had alerted someone after all.

**TADA! What did you think? I'm not too sure about it myself, but that's life. If you want me to update sooner, then review. You'd be surprised how much they help motivation wise. :) TA TA FOR NOW!-bp**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok, really sorry thi****s took a long time to get up. I'm not doing any excuses. I was lazy period, but now that it's a snow day here (:):):):)) I decided to update, and keep an eye out for another story coming from me, don't know when, but it is coming! ****…… Anyhoo, chapter ten. Read, review, simple as that!-bp**

The footsteps grew closer. They echoed all around Piper, and the sleeping Aerrow. She didn't know where they were coming from, or how many there were. The only thing Piper could do was to assume a defensive position over her friend, and hope for the best. Suddenly, the footsteps were accompanied with a screech. A screech that was very familiar. A small blue furry object rounded the corner with such speed that it slammed into the opposite wall with a surprised yelp. It stayed there, chattering angrily at itself. Piper couldn't help but laugh.

"Radarr!" she called. Radarr's head shot up. He hadn't noticed Piper standing there. Joy filled his face and he started running towards here. He stopped suddenly when he saw Aerrow. Confusion and horror replaced the joy in his face. He walked slowly to his friend's side, and put his hand on the sky night's slowly rising chest. At Radarr's touch, Aerrow's eyes slowly opened. He eased himself up into a sitting position.

"Radarr?" he said quietly. Radarr chortled happily. "Radarr!" Aerrow cried, giving his co-pilot a huge hug "You're alive!" It then dawned on Piper. She was the only one Aerrow had seen after his capture, and the last he saw of Radarr was him disappearing into the clouds.

"Radarr, where are the others?" Piper asked "How did you get out?" Radarr looked at her with confusion, than slapped his forehead. Piper then felt like slapping her own forehead. Radarr had stayed behind with the Condor. She had forgotten all about him. Radarr's ears suddenly perked up. He turned to the passage he had come out of. Both Piper and Aerrow stilled. Radarr had much better hearing than them. They sat there for about thirty seconds, waiting for the sound that they dreaded. There it was. Footsteps, getting closer by the minute. Piper glanced at Aerrow. He was in no condition to run. Maybe they should just surrender then Aerrow could get the treatment that he needed.

"Not going to happen." Aerrow said, looking at Piper with determination. She looked at him, confused.

"Can you read minds?" She said confusedly. Aerrow actually laughed, while Radarr slapped his forehead again.

"No," Aerrow said, chuckling "it's just really easy to tell what you're thinking sometimes." By now the footsteps were closer, and it sounded like there were a lot of people making them. Piper helped Aerrow up, and together they started to follow Radarr back up the passage, until they realized which direction they were going.

"Radarr, we're going towards the footsteps!" Radarr nodded, and motioned for them to go faster. They rounded the corner and saw, to Piper and Aerrow's amazement, Aerrow's skimmer.

"Radarr, you fixed it!" Aerrow exclaimed getting into the driver's seat. Radarr hopped into his now re-attached cock-pit, and snapped on his goggles. Piper stood uncertainly besides Aerrow.

"Do you really think it's a good idea that you fly?" Piper asked him. "Why don't you let me drive?" The look that Aerrow gave her was the only answer she needed. Piper sighed and climbed behind him. Suddenly, the Dark Ace surrounded by talons rounded the corner. Aerrow started the skimmer and speed off with no idea where he was going, or how to get out. He twisted and turned through the labyrinth looking for a light that wasn't pink. There wasn't any to be found. Aerrow turned a corner, and stopped short. A dead end, with the sound of skimmer engines closing in behind them, fast.

**DONE! Wow, an hour of strait typing behind me and my fingers a **_**really**_** sore. Woof. ANYHOO, I'm thinking that there will be one last chapter after this then I shall be done with this story tear tear. But never fear, another one is in the creating… or something like that, I ****dunno****. Again, **_**EXTREAMLY**_ **sorry about the delay. Won't happen again, I ****swear**** by my own blood!**** Reviews always appreciated!-bp**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello all. Before anyone says anything, I know there was a big delay and I'm sorry. I was in my school musical which had intense rehearsal schedules. It's over now though :'(. Anyhoo, read on.-bp**

Aerrow turned to Radarr in his cockpit. "You didn't happen to bring my blades did you?" Radarr looked at him and shook his head 'no'. Aerrow cursed under his breath, than noticed a crack in the rock besides him. He glanced at Piper. There was no way that he could fit in that crack, but she might, with a little extra space for Radarr. Piper saw him looking at her.

"What?" she demanded "Aerrow what are we going to do? They're getting closer!" Aerrow nodded.

"I'm not going to do anything." he said. "But you are." Piper glanced at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked "Aerrow, we don't have time for this! They're getting…"

"Closer. I know." Aerrow interrupted. "See that crack?" he gestured towards it. Piper nodded, than her eyes grew wide.

"No." she said "No, no, no. I'm not leaving you!" Aerrow sighed

"You have to." Aerrow whispered forcefully. "I'm the one they want, not you. If they catch me, I'll stay alive. If they catch you, they'll kill you, and Radarr." Radarr looked at him sharply. It was obvious that he had intended to stay with Aerrow. "You both can fit in that crack. I'll go ahead into the passage and try to stop them from finding the skimmer. Once you're sure we've gone, take the skimmer and get out of here. Get back to the Condor." Piper looked into Aerrow's leaf green eyes. There was no way she could argue with him. He was determined to protect her, even thought he was in dire condition himself. Piper sighed, than nodded. Aerrow smiled. He winked and began to walk down the passage as fast as he was able. Piper bit her lip, then made a decision.

"Aerrow, wait!" she called. Aerrow turned as Piper ran to him. His eyes widened as she kissed him full on the lips. Piper broke away and hugged him gently. "Good luck." She whispered. Aerrow grinned and started walking down the passage again. Piper watched him until he rounded a corner and was out of sight. She then backed up and joined Radarr in the crack. They then both listened as the skimmer engines stopped, and a deep laugh filled the air. The laugh of the Dark Ace.

"So Aerrow," The cruel voice sounded "ready to be a good boy and come with us?"

"I'm not too sure about being a good boy but yes, I'll come with you." Piper could hear the smile that was on Aerrow's face.

"So where's your little girl friend?" The Dark Ace taunted. "Did she leave you to your fate?"

"No, actually." Aerrow said, a little more defiant, "We split up. She's probably out of here by now."

"Well isn't that a pity." The Dark Ace sneered "You won't be able to kill her now."

"Oh, that was Master Cyclonis' grand plan, wasn't it?" Aerrow smirked "Sorry to ruin it for you, but I've got a plan of my own." Piper then heard an audible thump, and the Dark Ace's grunt in pain. She then heard footsteps running down the passage away from her and Radarr, the Dark Ace's cry of 'Stop him!,' the blast of a cyclonian staff, and the footsteps were silenced. It took all of Piper's will power, and Radarr holding on to her belt, not to jump out of the crack and kill every single cyclonian she could find. She had to stick to the plan. The sound of skimmer engines filled the air again, then faded into silence. Piper crept out of her hiding place and mounted Aerrow's skimmer. Radarr jumped into his cockpit and they drove off, trying to find a way out and get back to the Condor so they could find their friends.

Aerrow awoke in a dark cell with no windows. He groaned and sat up. His shoulder was paining him more than ever, and the pounding in his head didn't help matters much either. He then began to register a voice that wouldn't stop talking.

"Aerrow? Aerrow, snap out of it dude! Hello? Is anyone in there?" A sharp rap on the side of his head caused what little vision he had to go blank for a moment, then he registered another voice.

"Finn, don't hit him! Can't you see he's barely conscious as it is?"

"Well sor-RY, Dr. Stork. And for your information, I didn't hit him, I tapped him, lightly!"

"Uhhhh, Finn, if that was lightly, why did he fall back down?"

"Hey! Who's side are you one Junko? I thought you were my friend!"

Aerrow chuckled a bit and opened his eyes. "Finn, I'm going to have to agree with Junko and Stork. You hit me, hard."

Junko laughed and even Stork couldn't keep a smile off his face. Finn grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry dude," he said, looking Aerrow up and down "You look like you could use a little vacation to Tropica if we ever get out of this, you know, a little surfing might do you good!"

Aerrow smiled, "Ok, we can go to Tropica _when _we get out of here, not _if_."

Stork looked at him in disbelief "You mean, you have a plan?"

"Nope!" Aerrow said cheerfully "but Piper might."

"You mean, Piper's free?" Junko asked, wagging his ears in happiness.

"Yup," Aerrow said. "How long have I been here?"

"A couple hours." Stork replied.

Aerrow grinned "That gives Piper more than enough time to figure out a……" The door exploding cut off Aerrow's sentence. The dust cleared, and there stood Piper in full Cyclonian garb holding her crystal staff, and a box. Aerrow smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Did you miss me guys?" she said, opening the box and taking out Finn's crossbow, Junko's knucklebusters, and Aerrow's blades. "Let's get to the hanger. Radarr's waiting with all the skimmers. I've put cloaking crystals on them."

"Going somewhere?" a malicious voice said behind them. They all turned to find the Dark Ace standing there, alone. Aerrow activated his blades, then staggered back, suddenly dizzy. The Dark Ace laughed.

"I see the final stage of that gash on your shoulder is taking effect. I'd say you only have about five minutes." Piper looked at Aerrow. She hadn't told him about the effects of the gash. Her eyes grew wide though, when Aerrow laughed.

"Your calculations were off Dark Ace." He said, still laughing "I was supposed to die about a day ago." And with that Aerrow sent a Lightning Claw blast at the Dark Ace, sending him flying into the opposite wall, where he lay there, unconscious. Piper turned to Aerrow.

"You've known this entire time, haven't you?" she demanded.

Aerrow laughed. "I studied crystals and their effects during training. I also know how to counter the death effect of a firebolt crystal." Piper smiled in relief. Finn looked from Aerrow to Piper.

"Uhhhhhhhh, dudes?" he said to Junko and Stork "have I missed something here?" Junko shook his head looking equally confused.

Stork just sighed and said "Can we go home now?" Everyone laughed, and soon they were all taking off from the hanger, and into clear blue sky. Aerrow sighed in happiness. He remembered something his older brother once told him.

_Once you feel the wind on your face, than you know that you are truly free._

The End

**The story is done, but never fear, there is more to come. Thank you one and all, for reading this, and just wait. I shall be back. Count on it.-bp**


End file.
